Dough treatment facility

Abstract

A dough treatment facility comprises a dough feeder, a dough metering arrangement, a dough kneading arrangement, a transfer arrangement disposed between the dough metering arrangement and the dough kneading arrangement as well as a dough discharge arrangement. A delivery piston, which is driven by a drive mechanism, forms part of the dough metering arrangement. A drive component of the drive mechanism comprises a load sensing device, which is disposed for sensing the load by which the delivery piston, when pressing the dough, acts on the dough. This enables the pressure exercised by the delivery piston on the dough to be controlled so that too high a pressure, which would negatively affect the quality of the product, can be avoided

1. A dough treatment facility ( 1 ), comprising
 a dough feeder ( 2 );  
 a dough metering device ( 5 ,  22  to  27 ), which comprises 
 at least one delivery piston ( 5 ) which presses dough into at least one metering chamber ( 23 ),  
 at least one drive mechanism ( 6  to  21 ) for the delivery piston ( 5 );  
 
 a dough kneading device ( 37 );  
 a transfer device ( 36 ) which transfers a metered dough piece ( 35 ) from the dough metering device ( 5 ,  23  to  27 ) to the dough kneading device ( 37 ); and  
 a dough discharge device ( 6 );  
 wherein at least one drive component ( 11 ) of the drive mechanism ( 6  to  21 ) for the delivery piston ( 5 ) comprises a load sensing device ( 13 ) which is disposed for measuring the load by which the delivery piston ( 5 ), when pressing the dough, acts on the dough.  
 
   
   
     2. A dough treatment facility according to  claim 1 , wherein the load sensing device ( 13 ) comprises at least one wire strain gauge. 
   
   
     3. A dough treatment facility according to  claim 1 , wherein the load sensing device ( 13 ) is a load cell arranged between two drive members ( 10 ,  14 ) of the drive mechanism ( 6  to  21 ). 
   
   
     4. A dough treatment facility according to  claim 3 , wherein the load sensing device ( 13 ) is disposed in a tubular casing ( 17 ) between the two rod sections ( 10 ,  14 ) of a drive rod ( 11 ), in particular a connecting rod. 
   
   
     5. A dough treatment facility according to  claim 1 , comprising a control unit ( 16 ), which is connected to the load sensing device ( 13 ) and to the drive mechanism ( 6  to  21 ) and which is designed such that the drive ( 21 ) of the delivery piston ( 5 ), when pressing into the metered chambers ( 23 ), is stopped as soon as a pressure that is sensed by the load sensing device ( 13 ) exceeds a pre-set pressure limit. 
   
   
     6. A dough treatment facility according to  claim 5 , wherein the control unit ( 16 ) comprises a data memory for a plurality of load limits.